How we fight fires has changed over the years. The modern fire extinguishers we see in almost every building have only existed since the Mid-20th Century, but what did they look like before? Explore the history of fire extinguishers and how their regulations have changed.
Fire extinguisher history
BC to Post-Medieval
200 BC – Ctesibius of Alexandria invented a hand pump
The earliest records of fire suppression devices date back to 200 BC. Ancient Greek engineer and inventor, Ctesibius of Alexandria, created a hand pump to spray water onto fires. The device was similar to modern-day manual water pumps and worked more effectively than throwing buckets of water.
Romans – Bucket chains (buckets passed hand-to-hand in a line)
The Romans continued to use buckets to extinguish fires. The bucket chain method had multiple people in a line passing buckets of water from the water source to the fire. This was a crucial early fire response method to contain fires before they spread.
Middle Ages – ‘Squirts’ began to be used
In the Middle Ages, ‘squirts’ were developed. These looked like large syringes made of brass, holding water to be sprayed at the fire. The nozzle would be dipped into a bucket of water and the rod pulled out, which drew the water into the squirt for dispersal. They required two people to use it.
1666 – The Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London started on Pudding Lane and burned for almost five days. Squirts were used during The Great Fire of London but, because they did not offer a continuous flow of water and required constant refilling of the 4.5 litres of water, they weren’t effective at containing the blaze.
18th-19th Century
1723 – The first fire extinguisher is patented
Ambrose Godfrey patented the first fire extinguisher in 1723. Godfrey was a chemist and created a fire extinguisher with a pewter chamber of gunpowder, which would scatter the fire-extinguishing liquid when ignited.
1816 – Portable pressurised fire extinguisher invented
George William Manby, a British Captain, invented the first portable pressurised fire extinguisher in 1816. This copper vessel contained a potassium carbonate solution (also known as pearl ash) contained in compressed air. Operating it would expel liquid onto the fire.
Who invented the fire extinguisher?
The question of who invented the fire extinguisher isn’t straightforward to answer. Godfrey patented the first fire extinguisher, but Manby evolved the concept into something much closer to modern-day fire extinguishers.
1866 – Soda-acid extinguisher first patented
Francois Carlier of France patented the soda-acid extinguisher in 1866. The extinguisher mixed a water and sodium bicarbonate solution with tartaric acid, which created carbon dioxide (CO2) gas to extinguish fires.
1881 – First cartridge-operated extinguisher invented
In 1881, Read & Campbell invented the cartridge-operated extinguisher. The internal cartridge containing compressed gas would release on activation and propel the extinguishing agent towards the fire.
20th-21st Century
1904 – Chemical foam extinguisher invented
Aleksandr Loran created the chemical foam extinguisher in 1904. The introduction of these extinguishers, smothering flames with foam instead of water, helped to smother liquid and oil fires and eventually led to the development of modern foam-based extinguishers.
1910 – First patent for using carbon tetrachloride (CTC) to extinguish fires
The Pyrene Manufacturing Company patented the use of carbon tetrachloride (CTC) in 1910 as a fire-extinguishing agent. While this proved to be an effective way to extinguish electrical fires, the use was later banned because of toxicity and harmful environmental effects.
1924 – First carbon dioxide extinguisher invented
The Walter Kidde Company introduced the first carbon dioxide (CO2) fire extinguisher in 1924. They remain some of the most common you’ll see in office buildings and server rooms. They displace the oxygen around the fire and suffocate it, effectively extinguishing the flames by starving it of the fuel it needs to burn.
Mid-20th Century – Modern extinguishers emerged
Despite the huge developments in fire extinguishing technology, it wasn’t until the mid-20th Century that we saw the creation of modern extinguishers as we know them today. These extinguishers used different extinguishing agents to effectively tackle fires, including water, foam, CO2, and dry chemicals.
Advancements in fire extinguisher technology
Fire protection, firefighting, and extinguishers have changed throughout the years, but there have been huge advancements recently, including:
- The introduction of environmentally friendly extinguishing agents to replace harmful chemicals
- Smart technology integrations to automatically detect and extinguish fires
- More efficient materials to make extinguishers easier to use
Fire extinguisher installation and servicing from Crusader Fire
Improvements in regulations mean that extinguishers fit standard designs and are widely available in homes, businesses, and vehicles. These essential